The majority of the contemporary wagering gaming devices or gaming terminals, such as slot machines, provide games of chance which randomly generate awards and other outcomes. Such Class III gaming terminals typically randomly generate a primary game award for a play of a primary game (e.g., slot machine games, video poker games, video blackjack games, and video Keno games). For such primary games, which primary game award is randomly generated is based on a probability calculation. Such Class III gaming terminals may also randomly generate a secondary game award for a play of any secondary game, wherein which secondary game award is randomly generated is based on a probability calculation. The probabilities of obtaining each of the outcomes, such as the awards in the primary games and the awards in the secondary games and the amount of each of the awards determine the average expected pay out percentage of such Class III gaming terminals. Because the awards or other outcomes of these gaming terminals are randomly determined, there is no certainty that a player will ever obtain any particular award. That is, no matter how many times a player plays a primary game or a secondary game, since these Class III gaming terminal generates outcomes randomly (i.e., based upon a probability calculation), there is no certainty that the gaming terminal will ever provide the player with a certain outcome, such as the highest paying award. On the other hand, due to the random determination, these gaming terminals can provide a certain outcome without limit, such as the highest paying award, numerous times in a small number of plays.
Certain known secondary games of Class III gaming terminals are played over the course of a number of plays of the primary or base game. Such secondary games provide one or more players an award for their persistence in playing the gaming machine for a prolonged number of plays or period of time. In these persistence or persistence-type secondary games, in association with one or more plays of the primary game, a portion of the secondary game is played or at least one secondary game element is provided to the player. After that player (or a different player currently playing at the gaming terminal) has obtained a designated number of secondary game elements (or advanced to the secondary game a designated number of times), these Class III gaming machines provide a secondary game award to the player currently playing the gaming machine. The provided secondary game award is based on the plurality of obtained secondary game elements (or the plurality of plays of the secondary game) which randomly occur based on triggering events associated with the plurality of plays of the primary game. Because the secondary game elements of these gaming terminals are randomly determined, there is no certainty that any player will ever obtain the designated number of secondary game elements to be provided the secondary game award.
One known Class III gaming terminal with a persistence or persistence-type secondary game includes a non-retreating or non-decreasing accumulator or accumulation meter which must be filled to win a secondary game award. The non-retreating accumulator or accumulation meter of this known persistence secondary game will not decrease until the secondary game award is provided. In this persistence secondary game, each time a suitable outcome randomly occurs in association with a play of a primary game, such an accumulation meter increases or is otherwise suitably incremented. After the accumulation meter is full (i.e., the suitable outcome has randomly occurred a designated quantity of times in association with a plurality of plays of a primary game), the gaming terminal provides a secondary game award to the player currently playing at that gaming terminal.
In one version of a persistence secondary game with such an accumulation meter, upon an initiation of a first play of a primary game, the gaming terminal sets the accumulation meter to an initial or reset amount. For each play of the primary game in which the gaming terminal randomly generates a designated outcome, such as a losing game outcome, the gaming terminal increases the accumulation meter. For each play of the primary game in which the gaming terminal randomly generates a non-designated outcome, such as a winning game outcome, the gaming terminal causes the accumulation meter to remain unchanged. In this version, when the accumulation meter increases to a threshold amount (i.e., the gaming terminal has generated a suitable quantity of designated game outcomes), the gaming terminal provides a secondary game award associated with the accumulation meter to the player currently playing at the gaming terminal and resets the accumulation meter. Because the accumulation meter of this persistence secondary game increases based on a suitable outcome randomly occurring in association with a play of a primary game, there is no certainty that the accumulation meter will ever full and the gaming terminal will ever provide a secondary game award to any player.
Another known Class III gaming terminal with a persistence or persistence-type secondary game includes a retreating accumulator or accumulation meter which must be filled to win a secondary game award. The retreating accumulator or accumulation meter of this known persistence secondary game may decrease before the secondary game award is provided. Such an accumulator or accumulation meter increases upon one or more suitable random events occurring in one or more plays of a primary game and decreases if one or more suitable random events do not occur in one or more plays of the primary game. In such secondary games, a previously increased accumulation meter (i.e., a partially-filled accumulation meter) will decrease unless a suitable random event occurs in association with a subsequently played primary game to maintain any previous increase of the accumulation meter. That is, such an accumulator or accumulation meter (i) increases upon one or more suitable first random events occurring in one or more plays of a primary game; (ii) decreases upon one or more suitable second random events occurring in one or more plays of the primary game; and (iii) does not change when no suitable first random events nor suitable second random events occur.
In one version of a known Class III gaming terminal including a persistence secondary game with a retreating accumulator or retreating accumulation meter, upon an initiation of a first play of a primary game, the gaming terminal sets the accumulation meter to an initial or reset amount. If the gaming terminal randomly generates a first type of designated outcome (e.g., a first type of losing game outcome) for the first play of a primary game, the gaming terminal associates the accumulation meter with this type of designated outcome and increases the retreating accumulation meter. In this version, if for a second play of the primary game, the gaming terminal again randomly generates the same type of designated outcome as is currently associated with the accumulation meter (e.g., the first type of losing game outcome is generated again) the gaming terminal increases the retreating accumulation meter. On the other hand, if for the second play of the primary game, the gaming terminal randomly generates a different type of designated outcome than is currently associated with the accumulation meter (e.g., a second, different type of losing game outcome is generated), the gaming terminal resets the retreating accumulation meter, associates the accumulation meter with this, different type of designated outcome and increases the retreating accumulation meter. Moreover, if for the second play of the primary game, the gaming terminal randomly generates a non-designated outcome (e.g., a winning game outcome), the gaming terminal does not increase or decrease the retreating accumulation meter. This process of increasing, decreasing or not modifying (i.e., not increasing or decreasing) the retreating accumulation meter based on the generated primary game outcome continues as described above until the accumulation meter increases to a threshold amount or level.
In one known Class III gaming terminal including a persistence secondary game, when the accumulation meter increases to the threshold amount or level, the gaming terminal provides a secondary game award associated with the accumulation meter to the player currently playing at the gaming terminal and resets the accumulation meter. In another known Class III gaming terminal including a persistence secondary game with a plurality of different threshold amounts or levels, when the accumulation meter increases to the threshold amount or level, the gaming terminal enables the player currently playing at the gaming terminal to either accept the secondary game award associated with the current threshold level of the accumulation meter or reject this secondary game award and attempt to increment the accumulation meter as described above to another, higher threshold level. Because the accumulation meter of this persistence secondary game increases based on a random event occurring and further decreases based on a random event not occurring, there is no certainty that the accumulation meter will ever full and the gaming terminal will ever provide a secondary game award to any player.
The above-described uncertainties are faced by both players and casinos (or other gaming establishments). For example, certain casinos prefer that a relatively high number of players hit low awards while a relatively low number of players hit high awards. When players hit high awards periodically, certain casinos can attract more players, because of the positive publicity these large wins generate. By using desired payback percentages or probabilities, the casinos can also expect to make a certain level of profit. The random determinations can, however, unexpectedly cause casinos to suffer a loss or, on the other hand, to reap great profit in the short run and lose business in the long run due to a reputation for only paying out low awards. In other words, a given casino can expect to earn a certain profit percentage in the long term for a given casino game. However, over a designated period of time, a given casino can also suffer a financial loss on a given game. That is, a game with more-frequent high-value awards above a certain high-value threshold is mathematically more likely to generate a loss for the casino over the designated period of time relative to a similar game (with an equal long-term payback percentage) that has less-frequent high-value awards above the high-value threshold (and a greater likelihood of providing lower-value awards at or below the high-value threshold). Accordingly, a typical casino offering Class III games must balance its interest in reducing its financial risk with the interests of certain players that prefer games with more-frequent high-value awards above a certain high-value threshold.
Regulatory bodies in certain jurisdictions do not permit the use of probability-based gaming terminals in-part for certain of these reasons. These regulatory bodies instead permit the use of Class II wagering gaming terminals which are provided in two major forms: (1) a bingo-based Class II systems and (2) a central pull-tab systems. Typical bingo-based Class II systems provide awards based on the automatic play of a multi-player bingo game, wherein the bingo-game outcomes are displayed in a bingo-game form (and/or a slot game form, a video poker game form or any suitable form). Typical central pull-tab systems provide a set or pool of certain or definite awards. Certain pull-tab outcome pools, often referred to as paper pull-tabs, provide game outcomes via a physical collection of paper-tickets. Certain pull-tab outcome pools, often referred to as electronic pull-tabs, provide game outcomes via a collection of data in an electronic or electromechanical data storage mechanism. Generally, in pull tab based systems, a certain number of wins are guaranteed and the overall amount paid back to players is guaranteed. That is, the actual payback percentage is static and not an average expected amount.
In certain jurisdictions, to comply with the above-mentioned regulatory rules that do not permit the use of probability-based gaming terminals, centralized electronic pull-tab systems, also known as central determination gaming systems (including a plurality of individual gaming terminals in communication with a central processor or controller) have been implemented wherein the central system maintains one or more predetermined pools or sets of predetermined game outcomes. Each predetermined game outcome in each set or pool includes a game outcome component (i.e., a win, a loss, a secondary game trigger or other suitable outcome) with an associated value or payout amount, if any, and a game presentation component (i.e., how the game outcome is displayed or presented to the player). In these systems, when a player makes a wager on one of the Class II gaming terminals, the central system independently selects a predetermined game outcome from a set or pool of predetermined game outcomes and flags or marks the selected game outcome as used. Once a game outcome is flagged as used, it is prevented from further selection from the set or pool and cannot be selected by the central controller upon another wager. The selected predetermined game outcome is communicated to the individual gaming terminal. The individual gaming terminal displays or presents the game presentation component and provides the player the game outcome component with the associated value, if any, for the selected game outcome. This type of Class II central determination gaming system provides players with all of the available predetermined game outcomes over the course of the play cycle and guarantees the actual wining outcomes and losing outcomes in the pool or set.
In addition to central determination gaming systems which provided predetermined game outcomes, other known Class II gaming terminals are configured to provide a player a predetermined game outcome. In these gaming terminals, rather than receiving a predetermined game outcome from a central controller, the gaming terminal stores a plurality of predetermined game outcomes in a memory device. Upon a player initiating a game at the gaming terminal, the predetermined game outcome which will ultimately be provided to the player is selected and flagged or marked as used. The gaming terminal then proceeds with one or more game sequences and upon the conclusion of the game sequences, the selected predetermined game outcome is provided to the player. In another version of a Class II gaming terminal, a predetermined game outcome is determined based on the results of a bingo or keno game. In this version, a plurality of individual gaming terminal each utilizes one or more bingo or keno games to determine the predetermined game outcome which will be provided to the player for any game played at that gaming terminal.
As the predetermined game outcome in a central determination gaming system is selected by the central controller for each game played and as the game outcome in a persistence secondary game is determined over a plurality of plays of the secondary game, no known central determination gaming system provides a predetermined game outcome as a result of a persistence secondary game. That is, an inconsistency occurs between providing a separate predetermined game outcome for each game played (i.e., a central determination gaming system) and providing one outcome for a plurality of games played (i.e., a persistence secondary game). Moreover, an inconsistency occurs between Class III gaming terminals with a persistence secondary game that is uncertain to ever provide a secondary game award to a player and Class II gaming terminals with predetermined outcomes that are guaranteed to be provided to a player. Accordingly, a need exists to provide a persistence secondary game that is operational in a central determination gaming system.